Robin’s Place in ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ Revealed

While major spoilers regarding most of the major heroes involved in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice have already been revealed, there is one minor character about whom many were still curious. The Robin suit revealed back in the initial trailer led many to believe that Robin was dead. Since Zack Snyder has derived much inspiration from The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, it stood to reason that Batman may have had more than one Robin at this point in his career. There were even theories that Ben Affleck’s Batman might now be working with Carrie Kelley, the female incarnation of Robin from the aforementioned Miller comic.

We now have the full rundown of Batman’s history with the Boy Wonder. If you are wary of spoilers, this is a good time to stop reading.

First of all, it does not appear as if Carrie Kelley will be making an appearance. Many had believed that she might be played by Jena Malone due to online photos of Malone with red hair, but Malone will be playing another redheaded member of the Bat Family—Barbara Gordon. This information has actually been around for a while.

Still, the question remained which Robin had donned the suit from the trailer, and whether or not the graffiti was an indication that they had been killed by the Joker. There was also some question as to whether or not any incarnation of Robin would appear in the film. The general assumption by fans of the comic book would be that Jason Todd was deceased, and that he would not be the first Robin with whom Batman had been associated.

Apparently, this is completely accurate. Todd is the second Robin who has had the fortune (or in this case, misfortune) of working with Batman. An encounter with the Clown Prince of Crime appears to have left him dead, which likely accounts for a great deal of Bruce Wayne’s internal character struggle in Batman v Superman.

There was also buzz a while back that Dick Grayson would make an appearance. Not as Robin, but as Nightwing. While this certainly would have pleased many fans of the comics, there appears to be no planned appearance of Nightwing in the film. Reportedly, however, Grayson’s name will come up in conversation at some point. This is likely to be more of an Easter egg than a plot point, but it confirms the existence of Grayson in the DCEU. As for whether or not Nightwing will make an appearance in 2016’s Suicide Squad or the still-untitled Batman standalone film, more should be revealed over time.

There are still certain details regarding Todd’s death and Grayson’s apparent departure from Wayne Manor that remain unknown. Hopefully, we should learn more when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters on March 25, 2016.